LGBT Equality

In between press interviews, Congressman Lieu joins LGBT activists on the steps of the Supreme Court to celebrate the court's historic ruling on marriage equality.

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"The LGBT movement has made incredible strides and achieved victories that seemed impossible even five or ten years ago. However, there is great work left to be done as we continue to combat ignorance and bigotry. LGBT Americans still face significant barriers to marriage equality, equal access to education, and strong protections against employment discrimination. Our country’s founding principles of liberty and equality will not be fully realized until we eliminate injustices such as conversion therapy and discrimination based on orientation or gender identity. We must engage in a tireless mssion to secure a better future for all Americans, no matter who they love."

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said on Saturday that the fact President Trump drew criticism from the Boy Scouts and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), appeared to be the result of a concerted effort by the president.

"Let me say, in one week Donald Trump got rebuked by the Boy Scouts, by the Pentagon, by the [IACP]," Lieu said on MSNBC. "You really gotta try to be that bad."

The last week has been one of Donald Trump’s worst so far, though there haven’t been many good ones, and one Democratic congressman actually gave the president a backhanded compliment for pulling it off.

Washington – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | Los Angeles County) issued the following statement following President Trump’s decision to bar transgender people from serving in the United States Military.

President Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday morning on Twitter that he will bar transgender people from serving in the military brings to a boil a previously simmering congressional debate.

Critics of Trump’s proposal have already vowed to fight back hard, and the battle will be joined promptly. It will start in the next 24 hours or so during House debate on security spending legislation.

President Donald Trump’s announcement Wednesday that reinstated a ban on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military stirred up both condemnation and praise from across the political spectrum.

Leaders of left-wing and moderate advocacy groups called Trump’s tweets an apparent appeal to the portion of his conservative base that resents the recent civil-rights gains by the LGBT community.

In a Wednesday morning tweet thread, President Donald Trump announced his plan to bar transgender people from serving in the US military. His declaration was met with confusion and dismay as it came on the heels of an Obama-era policy that was supposed to begin allowing transgender soldiers to openly serve in the armed forces July 1, but was stalled for six months.

A newly passed Alabama state law lauded as protection for teenagers at faith-based youth programs was stripped of language that would have restricted sexual orientation conversion therapy following pressure from a conservative policy group with close ties to the bill’s sponsor.